1. Field of the Disclosure
A system and method are disclosed which generally relate to gaming, and more specifically to lotteries.
2. General Background
A lottery is generally a distribution of tokens such that a subset of the distributed tokens may win a prize. The token can be in the form of a ticket. One of the most popular forms of lottery involves the distribution of lottery tickets. Each lottery ticket includes a lottery number. After the lottery tickets have been distributed to the lottery ticket holders, the winning number is chosen. The usual method of selecting the winning number involves a random selection of the winning number. A random number generator can be used to randomly select the winning number. Some lottery systems require the ticket to have the entire number that is randomly selected while other lottery systems require the ticket to have a subset of an ordered sequence of numbers that are randomly selected.
Online lotteries and games typically require a waiting period for a winning number to be drawn and a prize to be awarded. In some cases, the player must wait a week, or at least several days, to determine the draw results. In addition, higher odds are set for the higher-prized games (i.e. those offering higher minimum and average jackpots), thereby reducing the chance of winning the jackpot. Moreover, higher-prized online lotteries and games generally require longer waiting periods than lower-prized daily draw games or those conducted more than once per day. In addition, traditional online lotteries sell tickets for a single price. Additional customer expenditures permit the purchase of additional tickets or participating numbers, thereby improving the odds of someone winning a prize, but without affecting or increasing the prize which may be won. If there are multiple winners of a jackpot, the winners split the jackpot prize. Players desiring a higher jackpot must defer play until the jackpot builds to a player-acceptable level through the roll-over process. In addition, if a jackpot is won, the jackpot for the next game automatically reverts to the minimum jackpot level.
Furthermore, traditional instant games, such as peel-off or scratch-off-style games, involve pre-determined results reflected by pre-printed tickets. Generally, the results are blocked and the player must scratch off material or pull tabs to reveal the results of the instant game. A traditional instant game is generally offered at a single price, with each game having its own price and independent fixed prize structure. Players seeking higher prizes must choose a different game; typically, a single game does not provide the player with prize and price options.